Recently, in an online poll Schwarzenegger’s phrase from ‘The Terminator’ -- "I'll be back" topped the list of most popular movie quotes, beating Clark Gable's, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" from the American epic ‘Gone With The Wind’.
"May the force be with you" from ‘Star War’s and Humphrey Bogart's immortal, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine" from the classic ‘Casablanca’ were also ranked high on the popularity list.
Big deal.
When it comes to unforgettable movie quotes, we have to hand it our cinema. All the memorable movie quotes from foreign cinema put together cannot beat the memorable ones from Indian cinema.
Dialoguebaazi mein hamein pakadna mushkil hi nahin namumkin hai.
If we were to hold an online poll to decide the most popular phrase in Bollywood, it would be impossible to decide between, “Kitne admi the, Mogambo Khush hua, Haar kar jeetne wale ko Baazigar kehte hai, Filmein sirf teen cheezon ke wajah se chalti hain...”and scores of golden expressions from other regional languages. Indeed, catchphrases fly thick and fast in Indian cinema. Proving once again that our dialogues are a lethal combo of the writer’s magical pen and the actor’s starry enigma. If rolled by a super star - crude, vulgar, pedestrian or double meaning entendres; all can be winners.
The phoren quotes may be globally hurrahed, but the desi ones are milked at every award function. Even today, the infamous mare of Bollywood is immortalized each time Hema Malini says ‘Chal Dhanno, Basanti ki izzat ka sawaal hai’.
On the sets of reality shows, Dharmendra continues to flare nostrils, and drink blood “Ku**e, Kami**y, mein tera….”
Even newbie Sonakshi goes on to mint her classic, “Thappad se dar nahin lagta…” No wonder. Hasn’t she grown up watching her father utter “Khamosh” at the drop of a hat?
Movies are a great leveler. Just when I thought it was a desi phenomenon to quote, “Main ek baar commitment kar doon to phir apne aap ki bhi nahin sunta,” I hear several Americans use movie quotes in business meetings, weddings. Some even try movie quotes to talk their way out of a parking ticket. Imagine telling a desi traffic constable, “Rishte mein to hum tumhare baap lagte hai…” One can only hope that the constable turns out to be a movie buff and pardons with, “Yeh police station hai, tumhare baap ka ghar nahin.”
Irrespective of who utters them, some gems define the Hindi cinema of the seventies. Come to think of it, ‘Apne aap ko kanoon ke hawale kar do’, ‘Bhagwan ke liye mujhe chhod do’ and ‘Mein tumhare bachche ki maa banne wali hoon’, sound almost comical today.
With the success of mindless comedies and the advent of puerile humour, catch phrases are deliberately inserted to make the hero appear witty and larger than life. Out of ten, even if one hooks you, it’s a win-win. The best part is that even though the vulgar ones become viral, they die a slow death of ignominy. Just like Tushhar Kapoors double entendres or Devgan’s ludicrous, “My chest has become blouse.”
In a world where the hero has to deliver power packed punches, both verbal and otherwise, Ranbir Kapoor’s silent yet successful Barfi has put brakes on dhamkedaar diloguebaazzi.
For the time being.
But then, silence only speaks for the multiplex audiences. The masses want their protagonist in a larger than life role, mouthing dhamakedaar dialogues.
So make way “Bond. So what if your name is James Bond?”
Match the onslaught of, “Rahul. Naam to suna hoga” or “Poora naam… Vijay Dinanath Chauhan,” or, “Hum yahan ke RobinHood hai..naam hai RobinHood Pandey, or, “Basanti, tumahra naam kya hai”, or, “Rathore, Rowdy Rathore – lagi pichwade mein aag?..…the list is endless.
